Heroes / Lost Crossover

Many have speculated on a Lost/Heroes connection because of the frequent appearance of Gannon Car Rentals brochures on the two shows. The two series have many similarities, including a serial design, mysteries surrounding characters, large audiences, and additional online content. A crossover would be somewhat revolutionary, given that the two shows are on different networks. In fact, when Nathan talked about rounding people up and sticking them "in a lab on some island in the middle of the ocean" (Unexpected), bloggers and fanboys got excited about the potential Lost reference. Further, Jeph Loeb, who used to work on Lost, penned Nathan's line. This, coupled with back-to-back appearances of the Gannon pamphlet on the two shows fueled the speculation.

However, creators of the two shows have been quite vocal about debunking any theories that the two shows reference each other or exist in each other's universes. In a Q&A session, writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite said that Nathan's island line was a reference to Marvel's X-Men, not Lost. Carlton Cuse, creator of Lost, told The Boston Globe, "Sometimes, a rental-car pamphlet is just a rental-car pamphlet." It should be noted, however, that Tim Kring and the creators of Lost do speak with each other, share ideas, and are influenced by each other's shows.

Notes

Gannon Car Rentals is a business name reserved for television and movies, much like the 555 telephone prefix.